Bon Voyage!
by Tesmi
Summary: The water seems fine to young Sailor Russell when he departs on a solo voyage out to sea. But are things ever really 'fine' when it involves HTF's poor unfortunate souls? Can Russell make it back alive- when out on the sea death is permanent?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Gray waves stretched as far as the eye could see. They lapped at the dark skies and hid underneath the blanket of fog that hovered in aimless directions over them. Dark clouds merged together at the edge of the horizon, like some gigantic monster, ready to swallow up the world around it. The salty sea air was quiet; only the occasional call of a seagull cut through the silence.

A turquoise sea otter stood on the docks, loading crates into a ship. His prosthetic legs dragged with a deep thudding sound against the planks of the dock as he moved, his long tail dragging behind him. His pirate's attire stood out against the deep pearly gray of the sea and the sky, his black captain's hat a noticeable outline against the sky. The sailor had a black and golden trimmed jacket swung up around his shoulders, though he did not have his arms through the sleeves. The otter heaved the last box onto the ship, prying his hook from the wood, and looked back over his work with a look of accomplishment. As he went back down to the docks to make sure everything was in check, his path was intercepted by a blue moose adorned in a red and white neckerchief similar to that of the sailor's shirt.

"Oi, is all done, Russ. I finished what ya told me ta do." Russell looked over him with an appeased expression, and smiled, nodding.

"I very much appreciate it. Thank ye, Lumpy."

The moose gave him an odd goofy grin, and a thumbs up, turning to tend to his own priorities. The otter had been glad when Lumpy had so easily agreed to help him. The moose was far more capable than anyone else he could think of or dared to bother, despite his… empty-headedness. He had been happier still when Lumpy had not asked to accompany him. Though Russell considered him a friend, the moose's companionship had approved to be more than hazardous on many an occasion. And, besides, he would much rather be a lone at sea right now. This was both a voyage of leisure and of work. Neither of which would be made easy if he had the moose's company to worry about.

Russell moved back to where he had unpacked his supplies from the car. Everything seemed to have been loaded onto the ship, and so the pirate sighed softly. He had spent practically all of yesterday packing. The otter brought with him only essentials; clothing, tools to maintain hygiene like soap and brushes, cloths, towels, rags, fishing lines, hooks and lures, ropes, some frozen fish, a contact radio, a compass, a magnifying glass, several knives, silverware, spare bedding, a swimsuit and scuba supplies.

There was happiness in the twitch of his whiskers as Russell turned to survey the sea once more. He had felt in his fur for days now- today was going to be the perfect day to set sail. His tail had twitched to foretell safe waters, his whiskers had stiffened to tell of a moderately nice weather forecast. His legs had begun to ache from the need to be off dry land and he hungered for fresh clams, not the stale ones he had harvested a few months ago. Now the smell of the salt that blew from the sea smelled more like home than anything else, and sent a buzz of excitement through the otter's brain.

Russell paused as he began the climb up the plank into his ship, turning at the sound of footsteps. Behind him came a small violet lamb, her green eyes bright with hazy discomfort at the loud sound her hooves made on the wood of the dock. To Russell's surprise Lammy had not worn her trademark white sweater today- instead she wore a plain white shirt and a jacket, the color of which matched her eyes. It seemed as if she had done her best to soothe the untidy patch of puffy white fur on her forehead, but to no real avail. The lamb's large ears drooped down as she looked up at the departing Otter, giving away her badly disguised sadness. It somewhat pained Russell to see, but also somewhat annoyed him at the same time.

"Are you leaving now?" She asked in a soft voice that carried gently on the sea air. Russell looked at her in slight apprehension, concerned that the wrong words would send the sensitive creature into tears. He knew little of how to comfort others, after all. The only one Russell could truly communicate with was the sea- any other attempts at socializing for him tended to go very wrong. This perhaps was what he and the lamb shared in common; neither one were known for their gregariousness around Happy Tree Town. That was possibly why Lammy had been so close to him since they had met, and why they were as close friends as two introverted people can get. She had escorted him here today with the offer to help him pack, and had done little but sit and stare somewhat forlornly at the open waves.

"Yarr," the otter responded, running a hand awkwardly through his thick greenish fur. "I am. 'Tis the best time a'day for departin'. "

Lammy nodded in understanding. The two stared at each other in awkward for silence for a moment, before Russell gave her a nervous smile and turned to leave.

"W-wait!"

Russell winced as the cry came out from behind him. The otter slowly stopped, reluctant to delay his departure any longer. He held back a sigh, turning his one red eye to Lammy. The lamb smiled apologetically, realizing that she was holding him up, blurted out her words.

"Please….b-be safe, alright?"

Russell could only stare at her for a moment, surprised by the affection in her tone. And then he nodded, flashing his sharp teeth at her in a smile that made her squeak.

"I will be. Don't worry about me, lass! I'll see ye later."

Pulling up the plank and hoisting up the anchor, Russell put up the sail, and took off, leaving a sad lamb looking after him on the shore.

The day that followed was one filled with utter bliss. Russell seemed to glow as he moved around the deck, securing ropes, changing directions to match the wind, and setting a straight course through the sea. He settled his belongings down in his room under the deck, happy to breath in the musky smell of damp wood that filled his quarter's air. The sky turned from a dark gray into a light bluish one as the day progressed, and the fog began to disperse as the weather became warmer. A light but strong breeze caressed the waves, which made loud sounds as they slapped against the sides of the ship. Birds with white and speckled black plumage flew high over Russell's head.

Being at the helm of a ship again reminded Russell what it was like when he had been the captain of his own ship, long ago. He had been young and foolish back then, however he was respected for his knowledge of sailing. No one could compare to him when it came to boats, and that was one thing that the sea otter took pride in.

It felt amazing to be back at sea. Though the otter enjoyed his time in Happy Tree Town very much, it was always refreshing to get away. This, after all, was the place he had been born. He had never really gotten his land legs, and so relished his time out on the ocean. Russell had become accommodated to a life of switching back between his two beloved homes, and though not an easy change, it was one he had learned to be comfortable with.

Getting away from the constant blood and gore was also calming. It wasn't as if his friends back in town tried to get killed on a regular basis. There was a curse laid on their small home, one that no one could quite figure out. Like anything, the curse had it's ups and its downs. Dying wasn't permanent, but immortality was not easy. If it weren't for the curse, many of them would have been dead a long time ago, if not from simple bad luck then from the murderous rampages of several of their friends.

Lammy, for one, though Russell didn't like to think about it, had once landed herself in jail for killing multiple citizens in front of a police officer. She claimed that it was her 'imaginary friend' . Though many did not believe her, Russell knew that she honestly believed this to be true. He didn't blame Lammy for her weird mental kinks- no, it was all her older brother's fault. Her older brother, Flippy.

Flippy -the town's only veteran and looked up too because of it- had PTSD. His post traumatic stress disorder could cause him to flip out whenever he heard the slightest sounds and kill everyone in sight (though on occasion his evil side spared Flaky, why Russell was not sure). Lammy was adopted, and so it obviously was just a horrifying coincidence that both siblings had such hazardous mental disorders. Or maybe it wasn't just a coincidence. Russell was convinced that it was the abrasive behavior of his friend's older brother that had messed with her head.

Even his good friend Lumpy had the awful habit of killing people. Not intentionally most of the time, but he didn't put it past the blue moose to hurt someone if it benefited him. Mostly, his fellow citizens were harmless, and just killed others on accident or out of sheer stupidity. Russell had to admit that even he gave into ignorance at times because of the fact he could never die, letting his guard down. The sea was the best thing for him in that way; it made his senses sharper, for you had to be at full alertness when manning a ship.

Somewhat contradictory to his prior thoughts, Russell decided he would spend his first day of the solo voyage simply lazing around the ship. After making sure that the vessel was set for a straight path, he burrowed himself a dug out bed in a pile of ropes and flopped down on his back, sighing in content. The brow of his black captain's hat covered his eyes, blocking out the light of the sun, as he opened his ears to the beautiful melodies of the sea. Russell felt very in tune with the world around him, and it pleased him beyond belief. Russell curled his long sleek tail around his form and fell into the warmth of a sleep.

Russell dreamt of mermaids. Beautiful women of the deep, with long flowing hair and fur soft as silk to the touch. Their tails sparkled with gorgeous scales and propelled their long bodies forward as they moved with great grace through the waters. The mermaids surrounded Russell as he swam through a coral reef, admiring him for his stature and for how handsome he was, and asked for stories of how he had lost his limbs and his eye. To Russell's interest and discomfort he realized that one of the mermaids dangerously resembled Lammy- the most beautiful of the sea women was one who had the face and torso of Giggles, and wore only a bra made of starfish. It was a shock as the world of beautiful women came crashing down around him.

Russell awoke abruptly at the sudden sound of something falling. His red eye flashed open in shock and he sat up, looking around in confusion. While he slept, the sun had slowly disappeared over the horizon, and the sky was now thick ebony black. A gorgeous marching band of stars paraded around the endless heavens, circling the crescent moon, and Russell was momentarily distracted in awe from the beauty of it. But then he heard a sound behind him. Russell turned and looked around the deck. Movement flashed in his peripheral vision, from behind a crate on the other side of the hull. Russell slowly approached, squinting in the darkness as he tried to identify whatever the unknown thing was. It appeared to be a moving creature; upon on further inspection, Russell saw that it was entangled in some netting.

Cautiously the otter approached the unknown creature, keeping his hook braced. As he grew closer he began to see more of its features outlined in the darkness- its body was covered in course material that he could only assume were feathers. It was a bright yellow in color, its plumage ruffled and sticking out. It was a small bird, with a long beak and a yellow mask around its eyes. As Russell drew closer, the bird lifted its head and stared at him, fear evident in the jerk of its body.

Russell looked down at the new creature in shock. Unsure of what was best to do, he pushed the crate aside, careful not to catch the edge on the net that the bird was entangled in. He considered cutting the net with his hook, but then dismissed the idea and went quickly to his quarters to grab a knife instead. Russell knelt down besides the bird, careful of its beak as he began to cut away at the netting. It was a hard task to accomplish for the nets were made of hard materials and the bird was not cooperative, attempting to lash out and hurt the hand who cut at his restraints.

"Hold still ye stupid thing," Russell snarled, though this caused further retaliation from the animal. "I'm only tryin' ta help."

Eventually the sailor was finally able to break the bird lose from the net. As soon as it was free the small animal began to flop about the deck in a haste to escape, flailing its wings. Russell watched in dismay as the tiny creature tried once and then twice to fly away. It became clear then that it could not. Its tail feathers seemed to have been completely decimated, its wing feathers ripped in several places and virtually unusable. It gave a pitiful cry as it crashed down to earth once again, relentless in its attempts to fly.

Russell glared down at the bird, hating it for making him feel pity. He gave a long sigh and scooped up the creature into his hand, using his hook to keep the bird form nipping at him. Ignoring its struggle to escape, Russell went below deck with the animal, rummaging through his things until he found some spare cloths. Wincing as the bird managed to bite his finger, Russell began to tend to its shredded feathers, working with as ginger a touch as the sailor could manage.

The bird seemed to calm as he worked, as if it sensed he was only attempting to help it. Russell set the bird down gently on his one of his shirts, wadded into a ball for comfort, and it immediately curled itself up, tucking its head under its wing. Amazed by the change in character, Russell watched the seemingly asleep bird for a moment, running the back of his finger along its spine. He smiled to himself, feeling the wary call of sleep. Stripping his coat and his shirt, pulling off his prosthetics, Russell set his hat on the bedside table and settled down on his cot. Closing his eyes, Russell fell back into warm sleep.

Russell was surprised when he woke up and the bird was not where he had left it. Stretching as he sat up the otter bristled his fur and shook his pelt to clear the matted feel from sleeping. He attached his prosthetics, wincing as he did so, and got to his feet. Donning an undershirt instead of his normal striped shirt, Russell went above to the hull, he glanced around curiously. The yellow bird was nowhere in sight. An odd emotion welled up in the otter's throat and he realized it was disappointment. Just as Russell turned to go back down into the hull to finish his morning routines, there was a soft _plop_! and he felt something hit him on the head. Jumping in shock he looked up, and was amazed to find that the yellow bird was sitting above his head on the sail. The bid squawked down at him, as if in amusement, and turned away to clean it's still bandaged feathers.

"Yarr!" Russell shouted up at it, waving his hook. "How did ye get up thar? I thought birds ain't climbers! What is ye, a cat?"

The bird looked back at him and let out a loud wail at the suggestion of him being a cat, as if had personally offended him. Russell snorted and reached up with his hand to feel the place where his fur had been hit. As he drew his hand back he realized his claws were covered in an odd grayish substance.

"What the bloody- OH MY YARR!"

For the next few days the bird stayed at arm's length. It took Russell much persuasion before the bird would even take food that he had held in his hand, and even then it would take whatever pieces of fish he fed it and fly to the other side of the deck to devour it. The sailor took great amusement in watching his new feathered friend and often times would simply sit and watch him as he explored the roping of the sails. How he got up there was still a mystery to the otter, as he had never caught him going up himself. Many things about the bird baffled and amazed Russell. He had never seen a bird with such canary colored plumage out above any sort of water way before- nor had he seen the strange eye makings or the odd beady red pupils the bird possessed. He had to do very little to accommodate for the bird living with him. It seemed to adapt on its own, quickly getting used to its new home aboard the ship. Russell knew little of birds but knew enough to know that their lack of visible genitalia made it hard to decipher their sexes- and so he decided he would give the creature an ambiguous name, so that it would not get offended if he confused its gender.

"I'll call ye Bandit," he said affectionately to the bird one afternoon, as the yellow creature had dared to come ever closer. "Because of ye mask."

It peered down at him with wide red eyes, head titled somewhat to the side, as if to say 'well wasn't it obvious?' Still, the bird voiced no opinion on his newly bestowed title, and so that was what Russell went with. Bandit was beginning to slowly trust the one who had rescued it, and showed his new trust through randomly hopping onto Russell's head and pecking hard at his tiny ears at any given point during the day. It hurt and often caught the otter by surprise, but more than not the sailor found himself laughing at the acts.

As Russell had predicted, the skies remained clear through the entirety of his voyage so far. Very few clouds marred the bright blue of the sky, and those that did were small and pure white. As content as a semi-aquatic mammal could be, Russell how nice it was to go days without dying. That was what he love most about getting out of the valley itself- though Russell was more exposed to death for it was permanent this far out here, mayhem was far less likely and not at all regular.

_Things could not get any better! _

* * *

><p>Bandit was not a diurnal bird by nature. It spent much of the day dozing in the shade of the sail. At night, the small yellow birds had other plans. True to its name, Bandit had a bad habit of hording objects. It was its dirty secret and one it hid well.<p>

Landing on this ship had been both a curse and a blessing for the mischievous bird. While patrolling the coast Bandit had been swept up by a sharp wind and carried to sea. Blinded by the tight current of air it was stuck in, the canary colored creature was powerless as it was spirited into unknown territory. Bandit's wings and tail feathers had not escaped the vengeful wind unscathed. Finding a ship in the middle of the ocean had seemed like a virtually impossible chance. And yet here it was- alive and well.

Bandit had had to leave its old collection of horded items on its home at land, but it found ways to steal new things. Anything Bandit saw floating in the sea it would take- weather it trash, shiny tinfoil or oil containers. The bird took whatever it could carry. Bandit even took things from Russell, though this it did very little for it did not want to arouse suspicion nor lose its newly found home. Bandit kept his things inside of a crate by burrowing through the corner and covering the entrance with ropes.

Tonight, Bandit found nothing. It looked sadly down at the water, before returning to its horde. Bandit had one item in particular that intrigued the bird the most. He would often curl his tiny body around the item and simply hum deep in its chest, a soft song that only birds could really manage.

The ruby eyes of the item were odd, and looked as if they were meant to lull one into a false sense of security. It was an effect that was not lost on Bandit. The small masked animal could gaze for hours at this item.

The item, though Bandit did not know this, was one that appeared quite often in Happy Tree Town. It went by the name of Ideal.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Author's notes<span>: Thank you very much for reading! Please, I love reviews; especially ones that help me improve! I originally wasn't going to introduce Bandit so early but… was at a loss of what else Russell would do for the first day that could fill any number of paragraphs. And also, sorry for the bit of Lammy X Russell there ^^;… don't worry, I didn't just put that in for the sake of it, Lammy comes back in later chapters. **

** In this story the characters aren't small and pac-manned eyed like in the show. So if you want to see what they look like I whipped up a few pictures of Russell, Lammy and Bandit and you can see them on my profile as soon as I upload them! Next Chap probably will be done within the next few weeks maybe sooner.**


	2. Chapter 2

Gonna warn you. This chapter is a bit shorter and less detailed then the last cus well- laziness :D But I still like it so hopefully you will too! Enjoy~!

**Chapter 2:**

"Isn't this beautiful, Bandit?" Russell smiled as he looked out over sand bar. The yellow bird besides him tilted its head as I looked over the small cove, clicking it's beak.

The cove was one that Russell had found long ago on his voyages. It was a beautiful spot where the water was clear and the sun touching the sand made the air gleam. The tiny rock formation that caused the cove was of no interest to the otter, but the reef that surrounded it amazed him. A sand bar leads off from the jagged formation, barely two feet under the water's surface. Where the sand bar cut off was a circular coral reef; the white surf illuminated the array of colors below. Tiny technicolor fish swam in and out of the irregular formations. Watching them made the saliva run down the otter's jaws.

The location was also ideal; this far out in the middle of the ocean sharks were in abundance, but the low tide around the formation proved a safe place to swim away from hungry jaws. Sea otters, especially lone ones, were easy prey for searching predators. Fortunately for Russell, as long as he stayed in the right spots his unnatural marine fur caused him to camouflage easily with the waves, only his red eyes and the black of his small ears sticking out against the backdrop. However sharks relied more on smell than eyesight, and so it was strenuous to find spots that were not riddled with the dangerous beasts.

Russell grinned in anticipation as he set anchor for the ship and buckled down. He pulled off his captains' jacket and his shirt, leaving only his black tights and prosthetic. The otter's prosthetics were designed especially to be water-proof, built so that they were easy to swim with. He jumped over the railing, landing agilely on the sand bar. The sailor glanced back at his ship to make sure that it was okay, taking note that Bandit was still perched on the side of the railing.

Turning back to his surroundings, Russell took a deep breath and dove under. As soon as his head broke the surface he felt the water ricochet off of his pelt, flying around his fur in a wave as his thick coat repelled the dampness from touching his skin. He opened his eyes onto the world under the surface; a world he sometimes wished he could bring up so that everyone could see. A school of wish swam past Russell's nose and he made a dash to try to grab one, but missed by a whisker. Shrugging off his failure the sailor headed down to the coral reef, searching for clams. He found a few nestled in a crevice of the structure, and grabbed as many as he could fit into his arms, swimming back up to the surface. Russell tossed the clams onto his ship, causing Bandit to squawk loudly and jump from grooming himself. Russell repeated this procedure several times, until his deck was full of clams. Pleased with his haul, Russell climbed back onto the deck and went to work putting the clams into the white bins where they would stay until he got back to land.

By the time he was finished it was already evening and the sky had began to turn a banana yellow, reflected on the surface of the water like one gigantic mirror. Normally, the sailor would not eat any of his clams until he was done with his voyage- but he had been blessed with many fruits of labor and so he feasted well on the soft pink flesh of the clams that night. Bandit did not particularly like the taste of clam, and instead went through Russell's other rations, eating a little of everything in his stores.

The night brought with it more beauty. The sky swam with thousands of tiny silver stars, like fish in the cove, that shown brightly over head. Russell decided to bring out his telescope and do some star gazing. It hurt his eye slightly to have to squint into the rear end of the telescope, and was hard to control with his hook. Worst of all was that Bandit kept hopping on the other end of the telescope and pecking at the lense. Russell tried in vain to swat the bird away, several times, but his feathered friend was not having any of it. But it was worth the strain, to be able to pick out the different consolations. He traced the stars of Ursa major, and Ursa minor. He connected the strings of Lyra's harp. It was all very memorizing and beautiful, gazing into the heavens.

Abandoning the telescope on the deck, Russell decided to just lay back and stare up at them from his makeshift bedding in the ropes. He rested his arms behind his head and just laid there and watched.

The stars, as they are, have always been a constant topic of human theory. Some like to gander that they are distant worlds, others believe they are the eyes of the sky, of 'God', there to watch over his children on Earth. Those with less open minds or a weak point to imagination know them as floating balls of gas and fire. How the stars came to be and why they never seem to remain the same is open to anyone to guess. Scientists have worked for years to find an answer to the unanswerable. That is why it is called such, however- the unanswerable. Every meaning can be interrupted a different way. Every sign sent means a different thing to a different person.

Was it cosmic power that droves events to be the way they were? Is it the will of some higher entity? One we can't see with our eyes, but with our hearts, and our souls? Or perhaps it is just what it is. Black and White. Life and Death. Was there ever a middle between?

If there was some cosmic scheme controlling how the world played out, it seemed as if on that night, under the stars, misfortune smiled gravely down on the younger otter and his ship.

* * *

><p>Lammy pressed her head against the wall, breathing out a sigh. <em>Working here is so hard sometimes,<em> she thought sadly, closing her eyes. Lammy had taken a job as a nurse intern at the hospital while she went through college. It had seemed like the easiest job at the time, with the only other choices being working at the diner under that OCD skunk or getting a job at the ghetto Tree Mart down her street. In truth, after just a week of being a nurse, Lammy had decided to go with her instincts and go to art school instead of medical. She couldn't just quit now, however, and so was trapped under her awful boss Lumpy, who rode her every day with his stupid commands. How this man came to be a doctor, she'd never know.

What made things worse was that she couldn't even complain about him to her close friend Russell because for some reason Russell liked the dumb moose. Why, Lammy would never know. Lammy had clearly taken advantage of Russell time after time, and yet he still clung to the dumb piece of lard as if it were nothing. The one time she had tried to talk to Russell about Lumpy, they had gotten into a huge fight. It was senseless and kept going back to the same points, so eventually they decided they'd beaten that horse to death enough as it was and it was time to stop.

_Even if he is an idiot, I miss him._ Lammy thought sadly, grumpily pulling herself up from her slump. Russell was one of the only ones in this town who didn't take one look at her and think 'freak'. How she had managed to make a rep that bad for herself she wasn't sure, especially considering how high up her brother was in the social status of the town.

Well, it did not matter now. She had work that beckoned her full attention, and she could not be at anything but full awareness. Lammy headed back up to the emergency, where she it was her duty to move gernies no longer in use. There didn't seem to be any that needed moving, so she began to walk back down towards main level.

"Ah, there you are."

Lammy froze. Her stomach contorted in a knot from the surprise of the summons, and she turned frantically on her heal in search of the speaker. It took her a long moment to realize whoever had spoken was not in the same hallway with her. Had her heart not been beating so fast, she might also of noticed the sounds of footsteps coming up the hallway parallel to the one she was in. Curiosity tugged at her conscious, overpowering the side of her brain that was screaming 'it's none of your business! Just turn around!'

Positioning herself at the corner so that she was both hidden from view and able to see what was going on, Lammy began her spying. It was Giggles – top of the nursing staff, and practically head Doctor, with Lumpy being basically incapable of anything- and too Lammy's surprise, Sniffles. The anteater worked at the museum and the science lab, so seeing him talking in a hushed tone to a nurse in his work clothing was unusual at best. Lammy twitched her ear, swerving it forward to try and pick up their whispers.

"..a place we can talk in private?" Sniffles was concluding, checking out the hall way out of the corner of his eye. Giggles glance around more openly, her voice even quieter then Sniffles as she spoke.

"Yes. There's a conference room around the corner. I'll take you there, but you should know I'm stretching thin on time and I don't want to hear about your boring biology monologues or whatever it is you talk about- "

"It's of the up most importance," Sniffles said in a slightly offended voice, cutting her off. Giggles gave him a scowl, but nodded, and turned to lead him towards the room. The two went out of Lammy's sight and she released a deep breath she'd been holding in for a long time. Part of her told her that she had heard enough and it was time to bring the ease dropping to an end. The other part, the stronger, more impulsive part, caused her to round the corner and follow their retreating forms.

The conference room was used by all and easily accessible since all staff had permission to enter. However, it was lockable from the inside, and the huge windows that opened it up to the Hospital corridor could be cut off from prying eyes by blinds. This didn't mean that it had sound proof walls, or that Lammy wasn't gifted when it came to hearing low voices. Looking around to make sure no one had seen her or was coming, Lammy crouched down underneath the window, putting her head against the wall. The two she had been perusing had already settled inside the room. She could only partially hear part of their strained conversation from inside, but the bits and pieces she picked up were enough to draw conclusions to the entirety of their sentences.

"What's so important you came all the way from downtown to see me about?" Giggles was saying in an irritated voice, her famous impatience with people emerging. Giggles was known as the mother of the nurses because she had seemingly unlimited patience when it came to tending to those who were ill or suffering. She doctored wounds like a prodigy could play music, and those emitted into the hospital always left with a warm feeling in their chest. However, when it came to handling those who were in good health, she could adopt a sharp tongue.

"I think I may have discovered the secret of.. the cursed Idol." This was Sniffles now, his high pitched voice throbbing in Lammy's ear as she pressed it to the cold wall.

"The secret of Idol? Of the curse? Why would you be telling me this- I'm a nurse, not a scientist."

"Well, let me explain. You see while I was inspecting an Idol- not up close, but through special treated glass, of course- I noticed something odd about it. It appears that the idol, when around other living specimen, will give off a noxious gas similar to that of what some animals use as a defense meconisum when the feel threatened. Intrigued, I ran some tests. It appears whatever animal is placed close to Idol for a long period of time...dies. Obviously we already knew that it causes misfortune, but prior to this knowledge the reason was unknown.

"Very carefully, we decided to open the Idol. But, no matter what we tried- diamonds, acid, heat, cold- it would not break. In fact, it seemed as if the energy Idol emits would grow stronger every time we touched it or attempted to break it. So we began to wonder...what if Idol itself was a living thing?

"It would make sense you see. Idol kills those around it, weather from 'misfortune' or not, as a way to protect itself. We assume that maybe Idol is a parasite, and that it will confuse or force it's victims to do stupid things that end in their inevitable demise. That, or the gas it emits does so. The exact cause is not quite clear yet. What kind of prehistoric monstrosity Idol could be is beyond us and beyond modern day science to figure out. But we think that perhaps the reason Idol keeps coming back is that... if it is indeed a parasite, maybe it is looking for a new, more mobile host. Or maybe it feeds off of us in some way...?"

There was silence in the conference room for a long moment. Lammy held her breath, unsure of what to think of what she had just heard. Her eyes had begun to burn because she had stopped blinking in the suspense and she shut them momentarily, opening them again quickly to take another surveillance check down the hall. The young lamb froze as she heard a voice begin again from the room.

"You must be out of your tiny mind," said Giggles, her voice was a low growl. It was an uneasy sound, as if she only half believed that he was wrong. Sniffles must of shaken his heard or given her a look before Giggles snorted then.

"I'm not and you know it. This is a huge scientific break through, and if used correctly, we could save many lives!" Sniffles was saying enthusiastically.

"Yes but what of the immortality? Before, you all thought that Idol had something to do with it. Now you're saying Idol isn't of a magic nature and that it's just a creature? A living one? You can't really expect me to listen to this and not question it." Giggles retorted angrily. Lammy could imagine her, arms crossed over her chest, her green eyes narrowed at the spectacles anteater.

"That... that we don't know abut. The immortality could very well be related to Idol, or it could be something else entirely. If you have to understand, it's very hard conducting studies when they is only one instance like ours in the entire world. No one has ever even seen an Idol like the one we have here." Sniffles sighed, pausing. Regret entered his voice as he spoke next.

"I should of never taken it back from my journeys.."

"Well that's a given," Giggles said in an unsympathetic tone, her voice still a low growl. "Listen, I don't have time for this, Sniffles." There was the sound of a chair moving, and then another.

"Wait, Giggles. I do need you to do something for me. Don't forget how easily I could manipulate your boss. And don't forget I have pictures of you and Shifty doing things Cuddles would not be pleased to see."

Lammy almost laughed at how unprofessional Sniffles had suddenly become with that piece of black mail. It didn't help when Giggles let out an outraged squeal.

"What? What the hell do you want!"

Lammy narrowed her eyes as Sniffle lowered his tone even further. She pressed her ear hard enough to the wall to the point that it hurt, plugging the other. Still, all she caught was the last part of his sentence.

"... and that's why I think it's necessary that someone has to die... permanently."

_**Hi Guys! Thank you very much for the patience, sorry it took so long! Also thanks for tuning in for the second chapter of Bon Voyage! ;P I promise, there will be less Lammy and more Russell next chapter- and guest appearances from two characters you might not of expected! Or maybe you did, haha! Oh and also- GORE. So until next time, stay... otterly amazing ;D **_


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